The trial of the alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev began on Wednesday morning at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in South Boston. The trial is expected to last several months as the defense attempts to persuade the jurors to forgo the death penalty.

Members of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev legal defense team walk into the Moakley Federal Courthouse Tuesday morning for the selection of the final jury for Tsarnaev’s trial. A total of 18 jurors were selected to try Tsarnaev on 30 counts in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013, as well as the shooting of MIT police officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013.

In the letter, the professors argue that Dershowitz was unable to directly respond to the recent allegations in a legal setting, citing the fact that he does not have standing in the civil case in which the allegations of sexual misconduct were first filed and that Dershowitz denies.